Vanish and I had left the Stevens Pass Ski Area and were back on trail! It was a beautiful sunny afternoon when we left for a campsite that was 12 miles out. The first few miles were wonderfully flat and we breezed through them with no problems. Then the trail began to climb very slowly to get us back into the higher elevations we would be cruising through over the next couple days.
This section was going to be very tough, both physically and mentally. We had a great deal of climbing ahead of us and the section was quite long. This meant we would be challenging our bodies more so than normal. The length of the stretch from Stevens to Stehekin was about 5-6 days (over 100 miles) which meant we were carrying more food and supplies than usual. We had planned it out to include one half day out of Stevens, four full days of hiking, and finally a morning of hiking to arrive at the bus stop for Stehekin. It was the last big push. And that meant that we would all have to keep our spirits up and stay mentally strong for a longer period of time. On the shorter sections it was easier to stay focused and driven because the prospect of town was never more than one or two full days away. This stretch however involved four challenging, long days of hiking. It was going to be very hard to stay motivated knowing that even after two or three days we would still have a couple nights to spend in the backcountry. I knew it would be tough going in but I did not anticipate just how challenging this section turned out to be.
After Vanish and I got several miles under our belt we split up. I was determined to get to camp before dark which meant I would have to really push myself all the way there. I stopped briefly to shed a layer at a beautiful alpine lake and planned on keeping a 3 mph pace the rest of the way. My brilliant plan, however, was thwarted by a couple of older horseback riders coming back from where I was headed. They were so nice that I ended up completely losing track of time and chatting when them for over half an hour. So, there went my hope of getting to camp before dark... But luckily Vanish and Nathan showed up and we hiked the rest of the way together. I told Vanish I was going to stick with her once the sun set and she seemed very pleased. Vanish hikes in the dark almost every evening because she has a slower pace than the rest of us. She is not a fan of night hiking though. I could tell she was pretty excited to have someone to walk with in the dark. Its spooky when you're by yourself in the woods at night so having another person with you makes the last few miles much easier.
As dusk fell we stopped at a lake to filter our evening water. The boys arrived right as we were finishing up and we reassessed our camping plan for the night. The spot we were shooting for was a small campsite about 3 miles away. According to our maps it had room for 2 tents at the most. This was a problem because there were about 5 tents between all of us and that meant there was a chance there wouldn't be enough room for the whole pack. To make things even more complicated, someone had heard earlier that two hikers in front of us had been shooting for this campsite. So, we decided to knock off about a mile off our original plan and stay at an undesignated camp area about 1.5 miles away.
We had a 1000ft climb to reach the campsite and we spent most of it in complete darkness. Vanish's headlamp began to fail and Matt's wasn't working at all so the climb was interesting to say the least. But mercifully we reached the top with no injuries and the campsite turned out to be a very nice open area with a fire ring. We set up camp, ate dinner, did Highs and Lows, and crawled into our sleeping bags.
I'd like to step back from the story for a moment and revisit something I may or may not have explained in an earlier post. Highs and Lows is an activity that we do almost every night on trail. When we are sitting around eating our dinner before bed we go around the group and list one "high" moment for the day and one "low" moment. An example of a high would be a fantastic view or a wonderful moment with a friend. A low could be a challenging climb, a pain or ache, or a mental frustration. Someone would start out the Highs and Lows and they would pick the next person until everyone had said their piece. Highs and Lows is a great way to process the day. It helps you recount what you did and experienced and commit it to memory. It also helps you decipher what makes your days special and worthwhile. Most of my "highs" involve people, which shows that my best days are spent with friends. Along with this activity being a very helpful way to process our adventures it is also a way to hear about everyone else's day. Since we normally don't see each other that often during the day, Highs and Lows let us tell our pack members what happened to us while we were hiking.
Ok, back to the hike! We woke up to a partly cloudy sky the next day. The sun was shining but it was clouding over quickly. Amazingly, Riderdieh was the first one out of camp that morning. Vanish left soon after and I followed. I passed her early on and spent my first few hours climbing up to about 6000 ft. It was a tough morning involving some very short, painful hills but eventually it topped out for a while. Thats when Nathan caught me. We had only been talking for a moment when we rounded a corner and found Ride. He had made some very impressive distance by 11 AM and we told him to meet us a couple miles down the trail at a spring. It was almost all downhill from where we were to the water source so Nathan and I plugged on until we reached our break area.
It began to rain as we walked so I threw on all my rain gear even though I was less than a mile from the lunch spot. It immediately stopped raining once I was fully decked out in my jacket and pants but I kept them on out of superstition and preparedness. I figured if I stayed in my rain gear the sun would come out just because thats the way Mother Nature works. Lo and behold! The sun began to peek out from behind the clouds right as I reached Nathan and the spring. It wasn't going to be fully sunny but at least it wasn't raining.
We stayed at the water for a while, just talking and eating. We sat under a tree giggling about lots of silly things until Matt, Wright, and Ride arrived. They stopped to eat with us and we spent another hour or so talking and laughing by the water. As I was packing up to leave, Matt made a comment that I will always remember. We had been laughing about something that was particularly hilarious and some of us had tears in our eyes from laughing so hard. After we stopped, Matt looked around and said "You know, I've never seen people laugh as long and as hard as we do out on the trail." Everyone stopped and acknowledged the truth of that statement. He was absolutely right. I have never seen so many people enjoying the little moments as well as thru hikers. When we do laugh, it is always sincere and genuine laughter. The kind of laughter that comes from deep in your belly and shakes you uncontrollably to the point of tears. We laugh hard and we laugh often. I've never been a part of a community that embraces such a relish for life and laughter. Every moment is new and beautiful and we enjoy each others' company to the fullest extent. That is why I call these people my family. I have enjoyed the highest of highs and suffered through the lowest of lows with them. The little moments remind us why we are out there and why we stay together.
I left the group at the water and walked on, pondering Matt's insightful comment. I crested a hill and then began to quickly descend down to a river crossing. One the other side of the river was a very large mountain and I knew the trail was going straight to the top. It was a long, slow slog up very intense switchbacks but eventually I reached a plateau. I had gained back enough elevation that I was mostly above the tree line. In front of me was the trail winding off into brown meadows filled with deep red huckleberry bushes and green trees. The sky was completely grey and the red and yellow of the huckleberry leaves popped out of the wash of beige that covered the horizon. I motored on. I was mostly done with climbing for the day and I traversed hillsides for the rest of the afternoon. My last short ascent brought me to yet another infamous spot: the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Just like Goat Rocks, Glacier Peak is talked about up and down the trail. I was especially looking forward to this area because my mom told me that this Wilderness was visible from the back porch at my Gramma Doty's old house in Cashmere. I must have gazed at it unknowingly when I was a very young kid. It was time to get closer and see this place with more attentive eyes.
As I entered Glacier Peak it started to rain. I stopped to put on rain gear and check my distance to the last water. I had about 2 miles left to go. Today we had decided on a certain amount of mileage, not a predesignated campsite. We were going to a water source but we had no idea what the terrain would be like and if camping would be a possibility. This always stressed me out because I assumed it wouldn't be flat ground. If it was, it probably would've been marked as a camp spot on our maps. I really wanted to get to the water before dark so I could scope out any potential camp areas at the spring or further up the trail. I arrived as the sun was setting and just as I suspected the spring was on a hill traverse. There was clearly no where to camp near the water so I filled up and kept going about .3 miles up the way. Thankfully, the trail passed through a small, flat meadow and I found a few very small tent spaces. I set up quickly in between rain spurts and waited for the others. Darkness fell and no one showed. I began to worry. What if they had chosen to stay somewhere further back? What if they didn't make it to the water? The thought of camping alone again did not sit well with me and I paced nervously outside my tent in the dark. Suddenly a howl broke the silence and I saw Nathan and Matt rounding the corner. Thank goodness! I greeted the boys, lit a fire, waited for the others, and got in my tent. The rest of the pack showed up a little later and we all did Highs and Lows from inside our tents as a steady rain began to fall.
It was still drizzling when I woke up. I was not excited for another day of gloomy grey clouds but I got up and left quickly to avoid getting my stuff too wet. Today was going to be hard. We were doing a 22 miler with a ton of climbing. But on the bright side we were going to pass 2500 miles that day! I tried to focus on that milestone as I began to sweat inside my rain jacket. My climb had begun. I spent about 2 hours ascending to about 7000ft through thick clouds. The trail was sometimes hard to see because I was walking in clouds that were clinging to the mountainsides. I was so focused on getting the hill over with I completely missed the 2500 marker. Oh well, at least I knew that we had passed it. The milestone was what counted to me not the stone marker on the ground. Even so, I was bummed that I had passed it.
Finally I reached the top and started going down. My shoes were soaked through at this point and the trail was completely saturated. It was as if I was walking down the middle of a creek. Every few steps my shoes filled with water and I began to slip on spots of watery mud. My descent was unpleasant for a while until I reached the tree line. The ground became more firm with tree roots and pine needles and I could walk at my normal pace. For the next 3 hours I descended down to the valley floor. The trail leveled out and I found myself passing through the same wet, thick underbrush that I had seen on the Goldmeyer trail. Great.... Now I was not only walking in wet shoes and socks but I was also getting hit from all sides with dripping leaves and grass. Keeping myself and my things dry was hopeless. To make matters worse I was very hungry and needed to stop and eat. Stopping meant I would lose my hiker heat and I would get cold. There wasn't even a dry place to stop and sit anywhere. It was still raining and not even the trees could shield me from the drops. Eventually I decided to break under a fallen tree that was suspended above the trail. There was just enough room underneath it for me to sit and eat my lunch without getting rained on. So I paused and quickly inhaled some summer sausage and cheese. Just as I started to feel a chill creeping into my core I got up and left. I had ten miles until camp and one giant climb in the way.
I upped my pace to try and restore some heat but that didn't work. At the top of the hill the wind began to blow and my chill began to get worse. As I descended I could feel my hands going numb and my arms starting to shiver. I tried not to focus on how cold I was. I stared intently at the trail as I descended the last mile to camp. When I was .5 miles away I could look down and see the tent area. But first I had to get down there. It took me an unusually long amount of time because the trail was once again a river. This time the steep downhill grade made the mud very slippery and I had to save myself from falling several times with my trekking poles.
Eventually I made it down and set up my tent as fast as I could. I jumped inside as soon as it was up and assessed the situation of my pack and its contents. Just about everything was wet. My sleeping clothes were in a ziplock, thank goodness, and my sleeping bag was only damp, not soaked through. It was not ideal but it could've been a lot worse. I stripped down to my underwear and sat there trying to dry off before I put on my long underwear. I began to shiver. I was above 6000ft and it was easy to tell. The air was cold and clammy. I could see my breath in the tent. It was a miserable time sitting there trying to get dry. Eventually I was mostly dry and I got into my wool layers. Nathan showed up and I got out of my tent and grabbed water before it was completely dark. Everyone else except Ride showed up and set up their shelters. No one sat outside because it was still raining. So we did Highs and Lows from inside our tents. I climbed into a semi dry sleeping bag and tried to regain some heat.
Ride was not there when I woke up. The rain, however, had stopped. After putting it off as long as I could, I put on my wet clothes from the day before (worst feeling ever) and got ready to leave. When I had my tent put away I looked around at where we were. The cloud ceiling had lifted and I could see a huge glacier high above us. I must have been looking at the north side of Glacier Peak because it was the highest point around in any direction. Inspired by the view and the break in the rain, Vanish and I headed out. We rounded a corner and began to descend down long, winding switchbacks. The trail was smooth in some places and in others it was blocked by fallen trees and washouts. We spent a lot of time climbing over logs and sliding down muddy hillsides that morning. As we walked, I glanced across the canyon. As I looked, I caught a glimpse of something that I immediately regretted spotting. On the other side of the valley I could see the very distinct line of a trail zigzagging up the hillside. It was an immense amount of switchbacks and they were there in plain sight, taunting us. It looked brutal. Behind me I heard Vanish say "Oh no..." Good, she had seen it too. Suddenly the walk down was not as enjoyable now that we knew what was at the bottom of that hill.
We reached the canyon floor and crossed the river coming down from the glacier above. I sat down for a minute, ate some food, and collected my thoughts. Ok, it was going to suck until it didn't. I just had to get it over with. I saddled up and started the climb.
It took forever. The beginning really hurt my legs as the trail cut a steep path up the hillside. Eventually the grade became less intense but the ascent seemed endless. I rounded corner after corner. My body began to fall into the rhythm of the climb and I became a zombie slogging up the hill. After what seemed like ages, the trail leveled out. My legs hurt a bit but surprisingly I felt fine. I had reached what I thought was the top and I wasn't out of breath or energy. Hell ya! I was so pleased. That was a tough climb but I came out just fine on the other side. I guess 2500 miles of muscle building helped.
I kept going. Soon I had rounded a corner and was staring into a giant basin. I was directly below the glacier and I could see several rivers and creeks running down the hillside. Far off on the other side of the curving mountainside I could see Wright, who had passed me earlier that day, sitting near a water source. After several minutes of walking around the basin I reached Wright and ate lunch with him. Nathan showed a bit later and we all got out our stuff and dried everything off. It wasn't sunny but it was windy. It got our tents and other supplies mostly dry.
I left before the boys and spent several miles descending down to almost 2000ft. The last 5 or so miles to the campsite followed a river and were mostly flat so that was a wonderful end to the day. On my way I met two new hikers, Cough Cough and Turkey. I hiked with them for a while and then went the rest of the way to camp. I got a fire going and the pack showed up after dark. It wasn't raining so we all sat around the fire eating and doing Highs and Lows. Wright and I stayed up later than everyone else and just before I left the fire Riderdieh showed up! I was so happy to see him. We had been worrying about him since yesterday night and finally I could breathe easy. Apparently he had really struggled the day before with the rain and the cold. He looked frustrated and mentally done with the trail, which was especially apparent when he began to talk about getting off trail at Stehekin. No one liked that idea. We tried to talk him out of it but the conversation went nowhere. Ride said he would play it by ear.
We had one more full day until Stehekin. I left early in the hopes that I could make some miles before it started to rain again. It was just like the day before, one big morning climb and then a long slow descent to a very low elevation. This time the climb was not a series of switchbacks. It was a straight shot up a very deep canyon. It wasn't very steep so my legs weren't hurting too badly when I finally reached the top. It started to rain again. It wasn't a steady rain but rather a series of squalls moving through. On my way down I saw Matt stopped at a trail junction. From that spot we were exactly 100 miles from the border. I took a picture and did a small victory dance. Canada was within reach!
I woke up at five and left around 6:30am. It was still dark when I left and I had to use my headlamp for a while. The sky finally lightened up and I was treated to a beautiful pink sunrise before the clouds rolled in. Soon I was getting rained on, again. Oh well, it was a town day. I pushed the last couple miles to the ranger station. Right before I arrived I reached the boundary of the North Cascades National Park. It was official- I had made it to all 7 National Parks on the trail! Woohoo!
I waited at the ranger station for everyone else. It was cold but I kept moving to stay warm. There was a small shelter barely visible across from the station and I went to check it out. To my surprise and delight I found some of my friends at the shelter! Kraken and Lil' Furnace were at High Bridge! We had been trying to catch up to them for ages and I was so excited. I howled and 'kakaawed' and then ran over and they gave me lots of hugs. My day was instantly better. Seeing them was such a treat and I couldn't wait to tell the rest of the pack. So we walked back down to the ranger station and waited. Matt and Nathan showed up followed by Wright and Vanish. They were all just as happy to see Kraken and Lil' Furn. Then Ride arrived. He had been hiking with those two for much of his trip and their reunion was such a beautiful thing to watch. When you're on the trail you can never be certain if you are going to see lost friends again so Ride was overjoyed to reunite with his fellow Eagles.
We all hung out and chatted until the bus came. We left Kraken and Furn at High Bridge with the plan to catch them a few days before the border. Everyone climbed on the bus, ready to be warm and dry.
Off to Stehekin!
-Smokey
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